H5N1 avian influenza has high potential for causing an influenza pandemic under certain circumstances. Discuss conditions in which avian influenza may spread in humans as an epidemic. If such a human– avian strain were to evolve in Asia, from the perspective of a national public health official, what measures would you employ to stop the spread of the new influenza to the United States? If you fail to contain the new virus, based on the known mortality figures for the current avian influenza strain, and assuming that 10% of the population became infected, predict the overall number of deaths in the United States.